Our Curriculum

The Village Temple Curriculum Overview: Grades Pre-K - 7th

Pre-K: Each Pre-K class focused on an upcoming Jewish holiday or festival. In Pre-K, children ages 2 through 4 learn about the holiday through stories, songs, art projects, and snacks of holiday foods. Parents are encouraged to participate in this class with their children. (Pre-K meets on nine Sundays per year, from 9:30 to 11 am)

Kindergarten: In each Kindergarten class, students are introduced to the upcoming Jewish holiday or festival, through stories, art projects, songs, games, and snacks of holiday foods. Kindergarteners also are introduced to Hebrew through songs with a few Hebrew words in them, sometimes substituting for English words in songs the children already know. Each class includes a time in the sanctuary for prayers. (Kindergarten meets on thirteen Sundays per year, from 9 to 11 am)

First Grade: In first grade, students deepen their connection with the life of the Jewish people through learning about Judaism’s basic symbols, which are found at home, in the synagogue, and during the holidays. Knowing these fundamental aspects of Jewish life provides a strong foundation for future Jewish learning. Students are introduced to Hebrew through a pre-primer in which they trace the letters, form the letters out of clay, pretzels or licorice sticks, color the letters, and sing the names of the letters. Students sing several songs in Hebrew, and learn some basic Hebrew words of greeting. Students hear a wealth of Jewish stories, and they participate in hands-on activities such as art projects and cooking, to awaken their senses to the richness of Jewish life.

Second Grade: In the second grade, students connect themselves with important stories of the Jewish people, and with some of the values they contain. Through the stories, students learn that they are part of a larger Jewish community and that Jewish people live all over the world. The stories give examples of such basic values as honesty, responsibility, justice and helping other people. The stories are taken from the Bible, the Talmud, Midrash, Chasidic tradition, Yiddish culture, Israel and modern children’s literature. With special emphasis on stories from Torah, students use art, music, acting, games, and discussion to become familiar with the personalities in the Torah and begin to connect the lives of those figures with their own lives. As a foundation to learning to read Hebrew, students learn the names, shapes and sounds of the Hebrew letters. They review their knowledge of the Hebrew names of ritual objects and symbols associated with the synagogue, the home, the holidays and tzedakah. Students also learn prayers by hearing and singing them. Students review the Shema, and the Shabbat blessings over the candles, bread and wine. Prayers learned in second grade include the blessings over the Chanukah candles, the shehechiyanu and the first of the Four Questions of Passover.

Third Grade: Third grade students consolidate their knowledge of the Hebrew alef-bet, both letters and vowels. They read both syllables and prayer words, preparing them to read full prayers in fourth grade. Third graders review the prayers they learned in earlier grades, and add blessings over food, several prayers and the Four Questions of Passover. Third graders learn about the heroes and heroines of the Bible who are associated with each holiday. They also learn of the values associated with each holiday.

Fourth Grade: Fourth grade students begin their formal study of Hebrew prayers, learning to read selected prayers. Included in this study are such questions as: why do we pray? Why do we pray together? How are the Jewish people represented in prayer? The land of Israel? Fourth graders review and consolidate their acquaintance with Shabbat and Chanukah blessings, the Four Questions and blessings over various kinds of foods. Fourth graders learn the format of Jewish Bible. They are introduced to selected prophets as leaders and visionaries and heroic role models. Finally, fourth graders learn of Jewish immigration to the United States, from asking their own family’s beginnings here to reading a do-it-yourself adventure story about the Lower East Side of New York.

Fifth Grade: In fifth grade, students begin a more intensive study of Hebrew prayers, learning to read with greater fluency and becoming able to sing and read more complex prayers in the sanctuary. Fifth graders study the rituals and ceremonies surrounding life cycle events. Fifth graders also learn about the Middle Ages from a Jewish perspective, traveling through Spain and Europe through a do-it-yourself adventure story of the 15th and 16th centuries. Fifth graders become acquainted with how the Jewish people always retained our own religion, adapting aspects of host cultures but maintaining core Judaic concepts and practices.

Sixth Grade: Learning and reviewing the major stories from all five books of the Torah introduces the sixth grade students to a study of the Parashat HaShavua and the midrashic stories and lessons they can draw from the Torah. Their Hebrew study extends to the prayers and songs the students learn for their B’nei Mitzvah celebrations, and students also practice sight reading passages from Torah to improve their Hebrew skills. As a link to the midrashic tradition, students are introduced to prominent sages who created the Talmud and the Mishnah. They also see some of the recommendations the sages made for how to observe the holidays and festivals.

Seventh Grade: Immersed in their B’nei Mitzvah preparations, seventh graders practice reading Hebrew extensively, and learn the histories and customs associated with many prayers. They concentrate on identifying their own thoughts about the prayers they've learned, and study midrashim and practices associated with the prayers. Students continue the study of the weekly Torah portion which they began in sixth grade. Working on their understanding and their own interpretations of the Torah prepares students for their B'nei Mitzvah speeches and their future approach to Torah. (Most students are actively training for B'nei Mitzvah in lessons with the Cantor outside of class.) In History, students learn of resistance to the Holocaust, focusing on the seeds of prejudice and group-think, and also about Zionism and the founding of the state of Israel.